Safety Belt Swim Trainer

ABSTRACT

A safety-retrieval system comprised of three components, a life jacket with reinforced tethering points, a waist belt with tethering points to be worn around a secondary person&#39;s waist, and a tethering line/leash to connect the life jacket to the waist belt.

REFERENCE TO RELATED PROVISIONAL APPLICATION

Title of Invention: Safety Belt Swim Trainer

Application Number: 61/860,857

Confirmation Number: 7646

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Life jackets, or more appropriately, personal floatation devices, have been in use for many years and no doubt have saved countless lives; hence the aptly coined label ‘life jacket’ has stuck. These life saving devices are used in almost all water activities to provide extra floatation in times when it is needed. Even the strongest swimmer will eventually find the need for a life jacket if exposed to open water long enough. Needless to say, they are a Coast Guard required safety device for all sea-going vessels, and are the absolute minimum that should accompany any water-borne recreational activity or excursion. Also, due to their added buoyancy, they are frequently used to help children and novice swimmers practise their skills at pools and beaches alike. It is from these everyday beach-going activities where the inspiration for our system originates. Not long ago, on a family vacation to the beach, we purchased a nice youth life jacket for our young 2 year old child. We were, of course, trying to be safe and err on the side of caution, even though we had no intention of allowing him out of our sight. Having him in the life jacket actually gave us a somewhat false sense of security in that if he got away from us in the water we knew he would float. Very quickly we learned that just having a life jacket on our boy was not enough to play with him in choppy water. The waves at the shore we were visiting, like most beaches, could very quickly go from fairly calm to very rough, which was unsettling. On more than a few occasions we really had to fight to prevent from being separated from our boy, even with him wearing a life jacket in only waist deep water. It was precisely then that we realised a life jacket, on its own, was not sufficient for our needs. Something would have to be done. We felt the strong need for an additional safety measure that would prevent a child from becoming separated from the parent and swept out into deeper water.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

We propose a new safety-retrieval system that is comprised of three [3] main components. These components are a life jacket (personal floatation device) with one or more reinforced tethering points, a waistband/belt also with one or more tethering points to be worn around a secondary person's waist (other than the life jacket wearer), and a leash/tethering line to connect the life jacket to the waist belt. This system will have varied uses but will initially be designed to allow a novice or weak swimmer to be tethered to a more experienced swimmer to provide added control and safety in times when water conditions are rough or unpredictable. The system will initially be targeted towards parents who desire added security and ‘piece of mind’, when their young children and youths are learning to swim, but will be just as helpful, and practicable, to people of any age that may need guidance, assistance, or just some added security.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Our invention and safety-retrieval system starts with a Coast Guard Approved personal floatation device. We then add tethering points, in the form of D-rings, O-rings, or both, stitched to the jacket in various locations. These life jackets may have only one or several tethering points. The most common configurations will have these tethering points either centered on the back of the jacket, on both sides of the jacket just above the waist line, or both sides and back. All points of attachment (tethering points) on the jacket will be stitched all the way through to the inside surface of the jacket and will be done in such a way so as to distribute any pulling (tensile) force applied to the associated ring over at least a 2 square inch area. Furthermore, all stitching will be doubly done (at least double-stitched) to bolster the strength of all attachment points. The next part of our system is the actual tether, or safety leash. It will be of varying lengths and have clasps at one or both ends to be attached or removed from the life jacket. The last part of our system is the waist belt. It will be adjustable for varying waist sizes and more importantly have reinforced D-ring or O-ring attachment points for the tether to be fastened. These three components make up our safety-retrieval system.

Those skilled in arts similar to which this invention is based will appreciate that the conception, upon which this design is based, may readily be utilised as a basis for designing other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is therefore important that the claims of this disclosure be regarded as including equivalent constructions to such an extent that they do not deviate from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

EXPLANATION OF DRAWINGS

(In Reference to FIGS. 1 and 2; See below for description of Items 1 through 13)

FIG. 1 shows all three elements of our Safety Belt Swim Trainer and how they will be used in conjunction. The left portion of FIG. 1 shows a typical life vest style personal floatation device (pfd) with our D-ring design, having D-ring patches affixed to both sides as well as the back (rear) of the vest. The right side of FIG. 1 shows a waist belt with an adjustable Velcro style closure and a sliding D-ring to allow attachment of a leash style tether, pictured in the center of the page, which connects the PFD to the waist belt. The D-ring attached to the waist belt will be free to move around the wearer's waist.

FIG. 2 shows a frontal view of our life vest with D-rings attached to the sides and back. The inner reinforcement patch shown on the inner surface of the back of the life vest is connected to the rear (back) D-ring to distribute tensile forces. Although not shown, the side D-rings will also have inner reinforcement patches similar to the rear D-ring.

ITEMS ON FIGS. 1 AND 2

(Item numbers are enclosed by a circle)

-   -   1. Life Vest with D-ring Patches.     -   2. Nylon/Bungee Style Leash with Clasps.     -   3. Waist Belt with Special Channel and Sliding D-ring.     -   4. Rear (Back) D-ring Patch.     -   5. Left Side D-ring Patch.     -   6. Right Side D-ring Patch.     -   7. Snap Barrel Type Clasp.     -   8. Snap Barrel Type Clasp.     -   9. Sliding D-ring.     -   10. Waist Belt Buckle.     -   11. Channel for Sliding D-ring.     -   12. Adjustable Velcro Portion of Waist Belt.     -   13. Inner Reinforcement Patch. 

We claim:
 1. A safety-retrieval system comprised of the following three [3] components: (a.) A life jacket (Personal Flotation Device) with either a singular or plurality of D-ring/O-ring attachment points affixed to said PFD and reinforced in such a way so as to distribute a pulling/tensile force over at least a 2 square inch area, (b.) An attachable safety line/tether made of a durable, yet soft and non-abrasive, material with clasps at one or both ends, and (c.) A waist band/belt also of a durable and soft/non-abrasive material with reinforced D-ring/O-ring attachment points to be attached to another person's (a person other than the life jacket wearer) waist, such as a parent/instructor.
 2. A safety-retrieval system comprised of the following two [2] components: (a.) A life jacket (PFD) with either a singular or plurality of D-ring/O-ring attachment points reinforced as described in claim (1) and, (b.) A safety line/tether as described in claim (1).
 3. A life jacket (PFD) as described in claim (1) with D-ring/O-ring attachment points located on (affixed to) the back of said PFD, the sides of said PFD, or both back and sides of said PFD.
 4. A waist band/belt as described in claim (1) wherein either a singular or plurality of D-ring/O-ring attachment points are affixed to said belt in such a way so as to allow the D-rings/O-rings to move/slide freely around the wearers waist.
 5. A safety-retrieval system as described in claim (1) wherein the life jacket of said system is (is rated as) a Type I Coast Guard Approved PFD.
 6. A safety-retrieval system as described in claim (1) wherein the life jacket of said system is (is rated as) a Type II Coast Guard Approved PFD.
 7. A safety-retrieval system as described in claim (1) wherein the life jacket of said system is (is rated as) a Type III Coast Guard Approved PFD.
 8. A safety-retrieval system as described in claim (1) wherein the life jacket of said system is (is rated as) a Type V (special use device) Coast Guard Approved PFD on which the intended uses will be labelled.
 9. A safety-retrieval system as described in claim (1) wherein the intended primary use of said system is as an open-water (ocean/sea/lake) swim aid.
 10. A safety-retrieval system as described in claim (2) wherein the intended primary use of said system is as an open-water (ocean/sea/lake) swim aid.
 11. A safety-retrieval system as described in claim (1) wherein the intended primary use of said system is as an enclosed water (pools/rivers) swim aid.
 12. A safety-retrieval system as described in claim (2) wherein the intended primary use of said system is as an enclosed water (pools/rivers) swim aid.
 13. A safety-retrieval system as described in claim (1) wherein the intended primary use of said system is for non-power sports related recreational watersport activities (e.g. kayaking, rowing, boating, rafting, floating).
 14. A safety-retrieval system as described in claim (2) wherein the intended primary use of said system is for non-power sports related recreational watersport activities (e.g. kayaking, rowing, boating, rafting, floating).
 15. A safety-retrieval system as described in claim (1) wherein the intended primary use of said system is for waterborne survival/rescue operations (e.g. Coast Guard rescue attempts/training or tethering multiple persons/survivors together).
 16. A safety-retrieval system as described in claim (2) wherein the intended primary use of said system is for waterborne survival/rescue operations (e.g. Coast Guard rescue attempts/training or tethering multiple persons/survivors together).
 17. A life jacket as described in claim (3) wherein the intended primary use of said PFD is for waterborne survival/rescue operations (e.g. Coast Guard rescue attempts/training or tethering multiple persons/survivors together).
 18. A safety-retrieval system as described in claim (1) wherein the intended primary use of said system is for lifeguard/safety supervision training or recovery/towing functions.
 19. A safety-retrieval system as described in claim (2) wherein the intended primary use of said system is for lifeguard/safety supervision training or recovery/towing functions.
 20. A life jacket as described in claim (3) wherein the intended primary use of said PFD is for lifeguard/safety supervision training or recovery/towing functions. 